FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A dog was shot by a police officer Tuesday morning after it killed a Fort Lauderdale family’s pet rabbit and then turned its attention to responding officers, authorities said.
According to Fort Lauderdale police, the incident occurred at about 7:40 a.m. in the 2800 block of Southwest Eighth Street.
Police said the dog – an American pit-bull terrier – entered a property in the area and killed the homeowner’s pet, Snowball. It also tried to attack the homeowner, but was unsuccessful, Detective Kerri Hagerty told Local 10 in an email.
“I saw when it took it out of the cage and dragged it outside. And I started screaming like a child,” Katia Rodriguez said, telling Local 10 that the rabbit was her 9-year-old son’s beloved pet. “My son is a very sensitive child. When the cat got lost, he would say, ‘Mom, pray that the cat comes back.’”
Rodriguez said she tried to defend her son and nephew from the dog.
“He had my family cornered and I tried … I told my nephew, ‘Go get help at the house,’ and I tried to defend myself,“ she said. ”I hit the dog with a broom and broke the broom— it’s over there in pieces."
When officers arrived at the scene, the dog, who still had the rabbit in its mouth, turned its attention toward the officers, biting one of them in the forearm, authorities said.
Police said the officer then shot the dog, causing the pit-bull to flee the area.
The dog was found by Broward County Animal Control a few blocks away and was under sedation. It has since been euthanized at the owner’s request, officials confirmed.
The officer that was bitten sustained a minor injury and was treated at Broward Health Medical Center.
Rodriguez told Local 10 News that they had seen the dog roaming around for several weeks and even think their cat could have went missing the same way just a couple weeks ago.
The Fort Lauderdale Police Department Animal Crimes Unit is investigating.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, said she is heartbroken to have to tell her younger son the news about Snowball when he comes home from school.
“Oh, it hurts me so much here, in my heart,” she said. “I started crying as if someone had died, because I know my son -- he’s very sensitive. Imagine now I have to tell him the rabbit escaped, so I don’t hurt him.”
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